Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Conclusion on the rise of Christianity in Rome
Conclusion on the rise of Christianity in Rome
Conclusion on the rise of Christianity in Rome
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
What was the impact that Constantine had on Christianity after he conquered the Roman Empire?
As a stone penetrating a tide of water, Constantine penetrated through pagan worship as he brought Christianity to the forefront after the great battle in the Roman Empire. It changed the way Romans worshiped and impacted their society as a whole. Christianity was brought to the fore front greatly due to the support of Constantine. With his help Romans had changed their Pagan views to Christian views while impacting society, education, and influence on the Roman Empire.
Christianity before Constantine
Christianity during the early century was very difficult for many Christians. As many Christians were persecuted for not worshipping pagan gods. Persecution of Christianity during the Roman times were set in place during the ministry of Jesus and continued for almost over three centuries until the period of Constantine. Times for Christians were of great persecutions and consequences for faith. One of the first documented cases of persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire was of Nero in A.D 64. While persecution obviously occurred earlier, Nero captured Christians and made them out to be the cause of the great fire in Rome. This fire destroyed much of Rome and ravished most lives at the time. Christians were told that they were ‘abominations’, these new negative delusions were based on Christian practices: the body and blood in Catholic services (Bryant, 313). Pagan romans believed it was some form of cannibalism and ritual murder, when it was really a Eucharist for the body ‘bread’ and blood ‘wine’ of Jesus Christ. Nero’s excuses had made it clear that if anyone was a Christian there would be capital punishment. With capital punish...
... middle of paper ...
...thereof developed and harnessed.
Works Cited
Allan, N. (1987). Syriac fragments in the welcome institute library. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, (1), pp. 43-47.
Conley, T. (2000). Greek rhetoric’s after the fall of Constantinople: An introduction. Rhetorica: A Journal of the History of Rhetoric, 18(3), pp. 265-294.
Downey, G. (1957). Education in the Christian roman empire: Christian and pagan theories under Constantine and his successors. Speculum, 32(1), pp. 48-61.
McGiffert, A. C. (1909). The influence of Christianity upon the roman empire. The Harvard Theological Review, 2(1), pp. 28-49.
Rayner, A. J. (1942). Christian society in the Roman Empire. Greece & Rome, 11(33), pp. 113-123.
Toynbee, A. J. (1955). The Ottoman Empire in world history. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 99(3), pp. 119-126.
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
Morey, William C. "Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 19." Forum Romanum. 1901. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. .
Christianity developed with Jesus of Nazareth (6 BCE- 29 CE). He was born during the reign of Augustus Caesar. He practiced Christianity from 26 CE to 29 CE. He was the Son of God and the Redeemer of all Mankind. The Romans viewed him as someone “rocking the boat” with what was already a nation of the religiously obsessed. Eventually h...
Dio, Cassius. "Roman History - Book 50." 17 June 2011. University of Chicago. 31 October 2011 .
McManners, John. "The Oxford History of Christianity." The Oxford History of Christianity. New York: New York Oxford Press, 2002. 28.
Constantine I (February 27, 280 C.E.- May 22, 337 C.E.), also known as Constantine the Great, was the first Roman emperor to not only abolish persecution of Christians, but he was also the first to convert to Christianity in 312 A.D. Around 200 years later, in 496 A.D. Clovis I (466 C.E.- 511 C.E.), the King of the Franks, converted to Christianity, in which he was called a “new Constantine” . Constantine and Clovis’ reign through Christianity were alike in the way that they decided to convert. However, the two emperors were different in their commitment to God and their impacts on the church and state.
The unity and ease of travel between many different people which the Roman Empire provided greatly aided in the sharing of the Christian message. The Roman Empire is the prototype for domination; many hundreds of peoples were under its control. Roads led from Rome to every part of its territory. Travel wasn’t impossible for these people. This communication made it possible for disciples to spread the Christian message all over the ancient world. If the Roman Empire had not e...
Shelton, J.A. (1998). As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. (2nd ed.) New York: Oxford University Press.
Heichelheim, Fritz, Cedric A. Yeo, and Allen M. Ward. A History Of The Roman People. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1984.
1. Tim Cornell, John Matthews, Atlas of the Roman World, Facts On File Inc, 1982. (pg.216)
3)Gwynn, David M. The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
Church History in Plain Language is written by Bruce L. Shelley. This work focuses on the history of Christianity from 6 B.C. to the current period. It covers some of Christianity’s greatest events, theologians, and the various subsection of Christianity. Other than the events leading up to the death of Jesus, I had very little knowledge of Christianity’s history. After reading through the book, I have gained understanding on the Christian Councils, scholasticism, Christendom, and modern trends of Christianity.
Bryan Byerly Mrs. Wagner Western World 10 Seminar- 4 4 December, 2013 Christianity in Rome Essay Christianity became more prevalent in Roman society as time went on because it appealed to Rome and what Roman ideals were. In the beginning Romans were skeptical of changing religion, but as the years went by, the Romans adopted and changed. Christianity appealed to the Roman ideals, as it gave certain perks that their current polytheistic religion did not offer to them. The emperors of Rome had many different views on Christianity; some emperors encouraged change, and others were more traditional and wanted to stick to their current, polytheistic religion. Roman views on Christianity have changed drastically from the early years of the Roman
Schaff, P. (1997). History of the Christian Church. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
In the Roman Civilization where the prevalent worship of roman gods were impersonal and did not provide a moral base or a message of hope, in the fourth century Christianity was formed, born as a movement within Judaism Christianity emphasized the personal relationship between God and people slowly spread through the Roman Empire until ultimately dominating the western culture. Three of the several factors that aided to the growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire were; the central beliefs and value of Christianity, prominent figures, and Christianity appeal to women.